Last month’s column on the potential benefits of breaching the four federal dams on the lower Snake River elicited a response that questioned those benefits and the need to breach the dams. The response led me to investigate this idea more thoroughly and I found a tremendous amount of information.
Spotted Towhee
Rock Sandpiper
White-winged Scoter
The White-winged Scoter is one of the world’s three scoters, all of which are seen in winter along the Washington coast. They are all in the genus Melanitta from the Greek melas, black, and netta, a duck. Heinrich Boie (1794-1827) Latinized the Greek word for duck and misspelled it. However, the principle of priority allows the error to stand
Bullock's Oriole
Dunlin
Dunlins are hardy birds that winter farther north than any other shorebird. This fall and winter they will be along the Washington coast from late October to early May. Major stopover points for them are the tidal flats and coastal estuaries around Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor and the Samish and Skagit Flats where they forage on marine and freshwater invertebrates by probing a few centimeters into the mud or fine-grained sand.
Spotted Owl
Common Merganser
The Common Merganser (COME) is about 25” long with 34” wingspan and weighs 3.4 lb (1530 g). The genus name Mergus is Latin for diver. The species name merganser is from Latin mergere meaning to dip, plunge, and anser meaning goose. It is called Common because it may be seen more often than other members of its genus.
Barn Swallow
Tufted Puffin
he Tufted Puffin is a dramatic looking bird. Its bulky bright orange bill, striking white mask and spectacular blond feather tufts streaming back along the sides of its head contrast with dark black feathers on the rest of the bird. It is excellent swimmer capable of deep dives of up to two minutes in length.
Barred Owl
Short-eared Owl
Pygmy Nuthatch
Great Horned Owl
Western Kingbird
Surf Scoter
The Surf Scoter (SUSC) is a 20” sea duck that swims in or just beyond breaking waves or ocean surf. Its genus Melanitta is Latin for black and its species perspicillata is from the Latin for conspicuous or spectacular. It is limited to North America, and winters on both coasts with some on the Great Lakes.
Barn Owl
The combination of the Barn Owl’s eerie screaming call, its ghostly white color, and its roosting in church belfries gave rise to many superstitions associated with it. In English folklore the Barn Owl had a sinister reputation and poets Robert Blair and William Wordsworth considered it a “bird of doom”.